Crossposted from NRDC’s Switchboard
Two weekends ago I stood in a room of over 7,000 fellow young people chanting that we believe that we will solve the climate crisis by ending our dependence on fossil fuels and transitioning immediately to 100% clean energy. It is clear that, as a movement, we are becoming more coordinated, more committed and more resilient. But that does not mean that we are winning just yet. It is going to take a massive and unprecedented groundswell of public support for action on climate across this country, whether it’s in the South Side of Chicago, the shale and coalfields of Appalachia or the California coast. A major feature of this future we are all fighting for is securing strong carbon pollution regulations.
This week, the EPA will continue to hold public listening sessions on how the Clean Air Act can be applied to reduce carbon pollution from power plants. This is an opportunity for anyone to step up to the microphone to show that the public supports the EPA’s right to enact bold regulations on carbon emissions.
The industry is doing everything it can to try and block these standards from going through. I saw this first hand during the New York listening session, when industry lobbyists got up and told lie after lie about how we do not need to regulate carbon pollution. I was pleased to have the opportunity to stand up as well, to look all of them in the eye and say that their statements against regulating carbon emissions were equivalent to telling my generation that we are not important, that our lives are irrelevant. I also spoke to the need for demand-side efficiency standards so that we do not get stuck in a natural gas induced coma.
These standards are an important step in turning the tide on domestic climate pollution. I encourage you to attend a listening session that is taking place in your city.
The upcoming sessions are taking place as follows:
- November 4th – Boston and Lenexa, Kansas
- November 5th – San Francisco
- November 7th – Washington, D.C., Dallas and Seattle
- November 8th – Philadelphia and Chicago
More information and how to register can be found here. And if you cannot make it to a session, I encourage you to submit written comments in support of carbon standards.
The EPA wants to hear from you. Now is the time to speak up for the sake of our communities, our planet and for many generations to come.
Image courtesy of Tar Sands Blockade